Assistant Category Buyer - Comet

EXPIRY
NOTICE: This job has now expired and will not be accepting any more
applications.

Overall purpose of the role:

To assist the Category Buyer in the management of buying, developing and ranging products and services that support the achievement of the Category plan and meet company objectives. The job holder will take personal responsibility for buying of the personal care and seasonal categories. The job itself is centrally based, however, there may be some travel involved and flexibility will be essential.

Key Accountabilities:

To monitor sales and margin performance and interpret variances against budget and forecast for the Buyer.

To monitor competitor activity and communicate to category buyer.

To use customer, sales and market information to support the buyer in creating a product range that meets market needs, supports the customer proposition and achieves department goals.

To ensure that all promotional finances are kept up to date.

To maintain supplier line by line sales forecasting and intake plans.

To contribute towards establishing, maintaining and building strong relationships with suppliers and other internal departments.

To assist the Category Buyer in negotiating with suppliers.

To be first point of contact for the department for suppliers and for ‘buying’ related queries from stores. · To ensure all relevant administrative, financial and systems procedures are completed accurately and within agreed timescales.

To work closely with the Supply Planner and Assistant to ensure stock levels and bookings meet the Category plans/objectives.

To manage the process for raising income from suppliers, monitoring it vs targets and reconciling it with Finance.

To control, chase and process all invoice discrepancies and queries as advised by the Buyer.

Skills/Attributes required for the role: ·

Must be a graduate with the drive and desire to pursue a career in a fast moving commercial environment. Must be highly numerate and possess excellent analytical skills

Must be self-motivated, have strong interpersonal skills and have the ability to solve problems at source. Must have the potential to develop excellent negotiation skills.

Must have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.

Must have a confident personality and be comfortable in social situations

Must have the ability to work well under pressure, prioritise and work within tight timescales.

Must possess excellent organisation skills and good time management.

Must be a team player and have an eye for detail

Must be PC literate with a good working knowledge of spreadsheets.

(Testing will be carried out at interview stage to assess verbal and numerical critical reasoning ability)

What decisions does the role holder make?

Day to day decision that do not require sign off from the Category Buyer